TRADING STANDARDS WARN OF SCAM

[Kintyre Forum News]

TRADING STANDARDS WARN OF SCAM
Argyll and Bute Council’s Trading Standards Team is warning people not to fall for on-line scams aimed at getting them to reveal their bank, personal or credit card details.

Fraudulent emails are circulating which are designed to make people believe they are from Government Customs and Excise Officers. The emails draw people in with the promise of a tax rebate from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Premier Services. The emails feature the name 'Premier Services' in a green box.

HMRC first identified the bogus emails last year and there are now several different versions in circulation. These include:

1. A fake Tax Payment Form sent to the public requesting a cheque for an underpayment of tax. According to HMRC this form does not exist within HM Revenue and Customs and no monies should be sent.

2. A scam alleging that HMRC requires payment of Non-Resident Inheritance Tax before an inheritance or windfall can be released.

3. Letters sent out with fake P86 Forms which ask for personal information from taxpayers employed outside the UK.

4. A scam involving postal items being stopped by Customs that require an Anti-Terrorist certificate to be bought before they can be released. According to HMRC no such certificate exists.

5. Emails advising the person that they may be entitled to Child Benefit. According to HMRC, a non HMRC email address and mobile numbers are being used as the contact points for this scam.

6. Emails stating that a parcel containing a cheque for a Lottery win, or a legacy left in a will, has been held up by Customs at an airport or dock and a payment is needed to release it. In some cases people may be contacted by telephone by someone pretending to be from HM Customs and Excise. HMRC never contacts the public in this way.

7. Most cynically, an email targeted at people who have already been the subject of a fraud attempt requesting personal details on the pretext that compensation will be paid.

Members of the public can find full information about the above scams at the official HMRC website by logging on to www.hmrc.gov.uk/security/fraud-attempts.htm

Trading Standards advice is simple. Never respond to these emails, ignore and delete any suspicious email which asks for personal or bank details.
The public can also contact Bank Safe Online at www.banksafeonline.org.uk which is the UK banking industry's initiative to help on-line banking customers stay safe. The site gives information about the different types of scams, how to spot scams and how to be safe.

If you are worried and you live or work in Argyll and Bute, you can contact the Council's Trading Standards staff on 01546 604423.

[EMDEE]

So as well as being robbed by HM Revenue and Customs we are now being robbed by criminals purporting to be HM Revenue and Customs.